We really need to hire some folks with summer birthdays

Interesting.... as the birthdays in my group drop off and the temperatures pick up, the kitchen shuts down (and the grill heats up, for the Friday Grill Outs) at my house. September brings a slew of birthdays and some cooler weather (at least in theory) and new motivation for me. I love fall, I love the fall produce and the cooler temperatures, but not the hayfever......

Anyway, to celebrate some recent birthdays, I revisited German Chocolate Cake (by request) and did several things differently this time - the cake has a rich black color (it isn't soot, I promise) and the filling and ganache are very tasty. Try this one and see what you think.

German Chocolate Cake
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup dutch process cocoa powder (I used the Hershey's Special Dark)
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
2 egg yolks
1 T vanilla
1/8 t almond extract
1 cup boiling water

Preheat the oven to 350F. Generously butter two 9" round cake pans.

Sift all dry ingredients together and set aside. Mix the butter, milks, eggs and extracts. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet. Mix in the water last - this will make the batter very thin. Split the batter between the two cake pans and bake at 350F for 25 minutes.

Coconut-Nut Filling
1 can sweetened, condensed milk
2 cups shredded coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
3 T vanilla

Stir ingredients in a pan over low heat until milk carmelizes

Chocolate Ganache Glaze
1 pkg chocolate chips (Nestle minis melt very well)
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter
3 T light corn syrup
1 t vanilla

Melt butter and chocolate until smooth, stir in vanilla and corn syrup, whisking until smooth. Cool slightly before using.

German Chocolate Cake

Now that I have a place to keep all these recipes - I've started thinking of all the fantastic things that I have made that really need to be written down. Uncle Robert's birthday brought us German Chocolate cake - with homemade icing - and here is what I did.

German Chocolate Cake
1/2 cup water
8 ounces (1 bar) German Sweet Chocolate, chopped
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, that's right - I use Plugra at room temperature
4 large eggs, separated
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Generously butter (13x9x2) glass baking dish. Bring water to simmer in small saucepan over low heat. Add chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth. Cool.

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside. Using your wonderful stand mixer, beat the sugar and butter until blended into a fluffy buttery goodness. Beat in the egg yolks 1 at a time. Slowly beat in the chocolate mixture and vanilla. Then beat in the dry ingredients alternating with buttermilk. In a separate bowl, using clean dry beaters, beat whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into batter in 2 additions. Pour the batter into the buttered pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
5 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 7-ounce package sweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Combine first 5 ingredients in heavy large saucepan. Whisk over medium-high heat until mixture simmers, thickens and leaves path on back of spoon when finger is drawn across. Mix in coconut and pecans. Spread warm frosting over cooled cake. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over. Let stand until frosting sets, about 2 hours.

Yum.